The uncaring march of time waited for none. It waited not for the former sorceress as days turned to nights and nights turned to days, causing weeks to pass.
In these past 2 weeks, the caterpillar had noticed that the moon of its newfound home behaved quite differently than what the former sorceress remembered. The heavenly body daily danced across the sky to hop from one direction to another. As it danced, the brilliant body of light changed colours to paint the world differently every night.
The familiar pale white rays regularly got subsumed by either the azure blue of the clear blue sky or the fresh green of a newly birthed leaf. Nonetheless, its light remained as pale as ever; maybe with the hints of blue or green, but it mattered little within the devouring darkness of the night.
The [Reincarnated] was uneasily awakened by the regular pulses of tautness in its backside. It took a slow moment for the groggy pest to figure out that it had to shit. Considering the number of leaves it repeatedly consumed, it had to shit a lot.
With that bit of unpleasantness done, it resumed eating. Since there was little else to do, the hungry creature sought hollow joy in its achievements. The first of which was the increase in its Level. The former sorceress had reached Level 15, causing its HP to rise to [HP: 20/20]. The quadrupling of its HP still caused its body to shiver in excitement.
This rapid increase in Level was the effect of its apt names title, [Hungry]. It forced its possessor to not just constantly eat but to ceaselessly devour. At the same time, it also allowed its bearer to gain Experience from eating. Thus, the silver lining was quite bright to the dark cloud of title.
However, the former sorceress could not wait to reach Level 100 and evolve to lose this Vessel only title. It was tired of the insatiable hunger and persistent corrosion of its flesh. Thus, it eagerly awaited its evolution and the change of its Vessel -its current body.
Meanwhile, its Skill [Crawl] -the ability to crawl on one’s body- had reached Level 2. It was its second but lacklustre achievement. However, the giddiness from the Level ups was dissipated slowly, leaving the creature in a good mood.
‘If I continue levelling like this, soon I would evolve.’ With such a rapid speed of levelling from merely eating leaves left the creature hungry for more. Thus, it ate without restraint. Not that the corrosion within its flesh would let it do otherwise.
The tiny creature heard a strange fluttering sound. It paused its constant devouring to look around before its gaze turned towards the azure sky. In an instant, the creature’s eyes widened. Its very blood froze as a sudden chill assaulted its week mind.
The tiny creature had come face to face with its natural predator. The flying intruder was an unknown bird that flew down faster with each passing moment with its dark gaze aimed at the plant that the vermin had been devouring.
The caterpillar’s body trembled as it tore its terrified eyes away from the rapidly approaching death. Its fraying mind raced as it sought to escape. However, no matter how much its speed had increased due to [Crawl]’s new Level, the Skill remained [Crawl]. It couldn’t help the former sorceress escape.
The fright-stricken caterpillar’s breath hitched while its body uncontrollably trembled. Its instincts kicked in to overwhelm the pest with the desire to flee. The former sorceress obeyed like a meek little slave and the caterpillar let go of the leaf to enter free fall.
Air rushed by it and weightlessness captured it for merely a moment before disorientation consumed its mind as it hit the ground with a resounding smack. However, small as it was, it wasn’t hurt much. Thus, the creature shook itself to shake off the shock and the disorientation.
It hastily turned back towards the plant, only to find the bird… the creature devouring the rest of its brethren with no mercy. It was gobbling down every caterpillar in the sight. One after another, the caterpillars crawled to escape but disappeared into its beak moments later. The dance of death was naked and grotesque.
The former sorceress momentary lost control of the stubs it called limbs as its mind processed the unrestrained slaughter. 'Kill or be Killed.' It remembered the words the blue screen had defined this world as when the caterpillar had summoned it for the expiation of the term ‘Experience’.
It shivered at the memory, which broke it out of its daze. Its breathing hitched as it rapidly turned away from the carnage. It searched safety from the death that danced naked.
Its eyes fell on a pile of dry leaves and the [Reincarnated] unhesitatingly moved towards the shade they offered. However, the former sorceress was a caterpillar with the [Crawl] Skill. The distance covered by the caterpillar with each effort was pathetic.
Caterpillars fell from the plant like rain while those that remained continued to be decimated. The sound of each smack sent the creature’s blood racing while each flutter of wings caused its trembling body to grow hotter.
However, the pathetically slow creature continued to crawl forward. Its unimpeded march allowed it to barely make it to shade before it heard another flutter of wings followed by the muted sounds of the creature landing on the ground.
Its rapid breathing halted while its trembling body froze in utter terror. Dread consumed it only for a moment before its blood raced, and it shoved its head into the soft ground to bite into as much dirt as it could. However, the dry ground resisted its tiny teeth when the soft leaf never had. It forced its jaws close and its muscles protested in agony.
Yet, giving up was not an option as death danced naked behind it.
It pushed through the agony to feel something give in. However, it was not just earth that had given in but also its muscles as the agony became unbearable. Yet, the creature closed its jaws and pulled back to spit the dirt out before it slammed its face again into the dirt.
Ting.
| [Skill [Pain Resistance Lv.1] granted.] |
It unceasingly repeated the process as the muted thumps of the bird’s movement announced the caterpillar’s approaching death.
Ting.
| [Skill [Pain Resistance Lv.1] has levelled up to [Pain Resistance Lv.2]. Continuous damage caused by pain is decreased by the 2 points.] |
Soon the hole was large enough for its tiny body to fill it in and through the pain and hurt, it managed to shove itself in with its mouth down the hole and its backside facing the world.
The former sorceress was exhausted, injured and in terrible agony. But it could not give up yet. It was still vulnerable. It had no way to hide its backside hanging out in the air. It was out of its wits and could not find a way to hide completely.
It felt the muted thumps. However, they were much closer than before.
Thump. Thump.
It felt the dying vibration of the sharp claws and its trembling intensified as fear strengthened its hold on the little vermin. Even its bowels moved in fear. And then it hit the worm. Shit. The answer was shit.
So, it shat. Through pain, horror, and agony it excreted. It shat all over its backside. When it was done, it wiggled and squirmed to shake the mounds of insect refuse into spreading out. Some of it even fell further into the hole and stuck to its body.
It would have been unbearably filthy if it had not been the method that was saving its life. The creature knew it was covered in refuse –rolling in it, even- but it could not even begin to care. Its survival depended on that mound of shit.
Thump. Thump.
The bird moved and it felt the distance between them decrease further. Its breadth hitched and its blood raced.
Thump. Thump.
The claws came closer and the caterpillar shut its eyes. It tried to remember if there was anything in its skill list that could help it and the answer jumped right out in its mind. [Venom Creation] allowed it to create venom which did base damage of 5 points per minute for the time equal to the Level of the Skill. Given that the Skill was at Level 1 and the effects of the venom stacked, the creature had no other option but to stack. '[Venom Creation]! [Venom Creation]! [Venom Creation]!'
As venom secreted from its pores, the fine hair on its body became wet while its shit covered skin was moistened. But the creature didn't stop. It continued to secrete the poison while its thoughts raced. ‘Who decides these shitty rules? Why does the potency of the venom increase only per 10 levels of the Skill? Why not with each Level?! And why in the world the potency of the venom depends upon the resistances obtained by the [Poison Resistance] skill?! What kind of madness is this?!’
It did not know if its strategy would work but with the amount of venom it had secreted, it hoped to take the winged death down with itself if it was eaten. Though that was just a pipe dream and the little caterpillar was exhausted.
It breathed shakily. It had done everything that it could do as a caterpillar, and then some. And if it died despite all its efforts, then it hoped to give the bird nasty indigestion. The tiny being smiled in satisfaction as it made peace with its approaching death.
Thump. Thump.
The bird came closer and the [Reincarnated] held its breath.
Thump. Thump.
It felt the bird standing right over its mound of shit. The bird paused over the hole and the tiny creature’s heart stopped. Would the bird look past the shit and poison and move on? It hoped it would. It prayed it would.
Thump. Thump.
The bird passed it over, yet it held its breath.
It did not move.
It could not move.
It dared not move.
At that moment, it heard a flutter of wings as the bird flew away.
The former sorceress remained hidden in its shit, disbelieving that it had survived. A shaky breath escaped it and it smiled a watery smile. It had survived. It was alive! It laughed and failed, for its body could not laugh.
'I survived! I am alive!' It tried to laugh again and gasped. It gasped again as it’s heart finally slowed down and the pain that it had been ignoring finally caught up to it.
It breathed deeply and searched for a specific Skill, hoping it would do what it wanted it to do. It checked its HP, which was at [HP: 11/20] and activated the Skill [Molting], which shed its skin to produce a new one.
No sooner had it finished activating the skill, than the creature’s HP was reduced by 10 points, leaving it with only a single point in its life force. [HP: 1/20]
'Oh, shi-'
-X-
Within a desolate desert, inside a dilapidated shop, on a simple chair, a youth seemingly slept.
The bleak desert, the dilapidated shop and the seemingly sleeping youth were no simple things, however. For this scorching desert existed in a distant place so far that there existed transcendental barriers to separate it from the others. Sweltering heat called the desert home and parching desiccation ran amok.
Massive dunes marred the land like numerous scars. These were the scars that moved. The scorching winds bent the dunes to their will to make them crawl, drowning the world in the sea of sand. Yet, it was not the Death that ruled here but life.
Venomous insects and poisonous plants littered the landscape like stars on a new moon night. They hunted and they killed. In turn, they got hunted and killed. They fought for food. They fought for water. They fought for territory. It was a place where life ruled but the Death never lagged far behind.
Nevertheless, none of the warring creatures dared to venture to the epicentre of the desert. Neither the predatory cacti nor the venomous insects dared to go there. Such was the condensation of the essence within the epicentre that even the dunes refused to tread inside.
The dilapidated shop existed in such a place.
However, even calling the shop dilapidated was a mercy that was needless. The thing was a decrepit assembly of time-ravaged walls, decayed wooden frames and a collapsed roof. A corroded door hung onto its frame, waiting for a gust of wind to turn it to dust. But the gust dared not touch this place. Even the most ferocious of winds tamed themselves within the presence of the shop
Within this shop, what was sold and what was bought was unknown, for there existed no merchandise within this shop. Rows upon rows of empty shelves exuded a silent hollowness that threatened to seep within the bones. While the manifold layers of dust shrouded the shelves, proclaiming their death.
Beneath those bare shelves, the floor was littered with yellow dust mounds, though their makers were long gone. Meanwhile, what remained of the collapsed roof harboured cobwebs whose residents had long since disappeared. The only thing that remained was the dark stains that plagued the floor.
The stain littered the floor like the mushrooms in a rain forest. With a colour of dark brown and a crusty texture, they radiated suffocation and hopelessness from the wooden floor. Their silent screams spoke of haunted stories and bone-chilling terror.
The youth sat here, on a simple chair and behind a simple desk, on a floor that exuded unspeakable horror.
The youth, barely 17 to 18 years of mortal age, had a figure that was slim but tall while his skin was the colour of aged wood. Yet, his face that was plain and forgettable, for his features were ordinary. A veil of black hair, dark as the heart of the cruellest mortal, hid a pair of simple brown eyes that were closed as if the youth were sleeping.
In contrast to his features, his clothes were something else entirely. If his features were made to be forgotten, then his clothes meant to do exactly the opposite, for he was dressed in 2 pieces of unstitched fabrics.
Despite his ordinary features and unordinary clothes, the sleeping youth oozed out an unnatural sensation. The youth was still, way too still. Not a single strand of his hair moved with the wind. Not a single corner of his clothes rustled to make any movement. Not even the youth’s chest moved to signal his breathing.
Yet even a speck of single dust was found not on his person.
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How mysterious~
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